The present disclosure relates generally to a powder spreader, and specifically to a powder spreader for use in an additive manufacturing apparatus.
An additive manufacturing process may involve manufacturing three-dimensional (3D) objects through fusion of powder materials in two-dimensional (2D) layers on a layer-by-layer basis. Generally, layers of powder materials are successively laid down and irradiated with an energy source so that particles of the powder materials within each layer are sequentially fused to form a solidified cross-section of the desired 3D object. While some available additive manufacturing technologies directly deposit the powder material, others use a spreading or recoating process to form consecutive layers that can then be selectively fused in order to create the solidified cross-section of the desired 3D object. Each time the powder material is deposited, a recoater or a powder spreader may be used to form a layer of the powder material.
A variety of recoaters may include blades, knifes and rollers. However, there is often a contradiction between compliance to increase process robustness and reduction in contamination due to the material of the recoater. For example, in a direct metal laser melting (DMLM) process, a rigid blade made of the same material as the material being processed is typically used in order to minimize contamination. The rigid blade may be detrimental as it may damage the powder material being processed and cause part warping. Also, the currently available powder spreaders may lack material compatibility and may not be mechanically compliant.